Street-indicator.



PATENTED JUNE 13, 19.05.

C. H. BAILEY. STREET INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.17, 1904.

Patented June 13, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CARL H. BAILEY, OF LEAVENl/VORTH, KANSAS.

STREET-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 792,489, dated June13, 1905.

Application filed December 17, 1904. Serial No. 237,329.

To all whom it nuty concern.-

Be it known that I, CARL H. BAILEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Leavenworth, in the county of Leavenworth and State ofKansas, have invented a new and useful Street-Indicator, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in street-indicatingdevices employed in connection with electrical-railway systems.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel form ofstreet-indicator that will operate automatically to indicate thesuccessive streets or stations on the road in regular order and in whichthe mechanism is actuated by the same current as that employed in thepropulsion of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cheap, simple, andaccurate indicator in which the extent of operative movement may bereadily adjusted, so that the same mechanism may be used on differentroads by proper adjustment to correspond to the number of street orstation names to be displayed.

\Vith these and other objects in view, as will hereinafter more fullyappear, the invention consists in the novel construction andarrangementof parts hereinafter described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims, it being understood that various changes in the form,proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be madewithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly insection, showing the upper portion of a trolley-car provided with anindicator arranged and constructed in accordance with the invention, thetrolley-pole and a portion of the current-conducting wire being alsoshown. Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the indicatingmechanism proper. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of a portion of thesame. Fig. 4 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of the conductingdevices carried by the current-conducting wire and the trolley-pole.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a portion of an overhead current-conductingwire, 2 a car, and 3 a trolley-pole, all arranged and constructed in theusual manner.

At a point inside the car is a casing 4, having bearings for thereception of a transversely-disposed horizontal shaft 5, on which issecured a ratchet-wheel 6 and a disk 7, the latter bearing in successiveorder the numbers or names of streets or stations which the car is topass and these names or numbers being successively displayed through anopening 8 in the front portion of the casing. The disk may be of anydiameter, its size being governed by the number of streets or stationsalong the line.

Within the casing is a solenoid 9, having a movable core 10, to thefront end of which is secured a collar 11, having suitable openings forthe passage of one or more pins 12, that are carried by one of the endflanges of the solenoid-spool and serve as guides to prevent rotativemovement of the core. To the front end of the core is secured aprojecting arm 13, that carries a pawl-tooth 14 for engagement with theteeth of the ratchet-wheel 6, and the core and pawl are normallyprojected by means of a coiled compression-spring 15, disposed betweenthe front of the spool and the collar 11.

\Vhen the solenoid is energized, the core is drawn inward against thestress of the spring 15, and the pawl let being held in engagement witha tooth of the ratchet-wheel serves to rotate said ratchet-wheel auniform distance at each operation. WVhen the magnet is denergized, thecore is drawn in the opposite direction by means of the spring 15 andthe pawl slides over one or more teeth of the ratchet-wheel and assumesa position in readiness for a subsequent operation. In order to preventrearward movement of the ratchetwheel and the indicating-disk to whichit is connected, I employ a suitable locking-pawl 19, pivoted to thecasing and engaging the teeth of the ratchet-wheel.

The rear end of the core or that end opposite the pawl 14: is threadedfor the reception of an adjustable nut 20, that limits the extent ofoutward movement of the core under the influence of the spring 15, andby suitable adjustment of the nut the pawl may be permitted to engagewith one or more teeth, in accordance with the angular distance betweenthe names on the indicating-disk.

The indicating-disk shaft 5 is preferably provided with a non-circularend portion, to which may be applied a turning key or knob, as shown inFig. 3, in order to adjust the position of the disk in case of accidentor in the event of the car being compelled to return part of the waybefore reaching the end of the route.

To the current-conducting wire 1 is secured a block 22, carrying aspring-arm 23, that is curved downwardly and inwardly to a positionunder the wire, and the block and wire are in electrical contact withthe wire 1. A number of blocks or contacts are used, one being disposedat each crossing or station or at points in advance thereof, and as thecar travels a contact-plate 24, carried by the trolley-pole, will bebrought into engagement with the successive contacts 23 and will closethe circuit through a cu rrent-cond ucting wire 25 and the solenoid 9 toground. The contact plate 24 is held on a spring-arm 26 at the top ofthe trolley-pole, and as both contacts 23 and 24: are yieldable there isbut little danger of breakage or the bending of the parts out ofposition, while the rubbing contact will serve to keep theconducting-surfaees polished and free from any coating which mightinterfere with the passage of the current.

In the operation of the device the moving car will bring thecontact-plate 2st into engagement with the contacts 23 and a circuitwill lye-established from the main currentconductor 1 through thecontacts and wire 25 to the solenoid and from thence to ground. Themagnet being energized will withdraw its core against the stress of thespring 15, and the ratchet-wheel will be turned to display the next nameon the indicating-disk, and at each street-crossing or station thisoperation will be repeated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In acar-indicator, a casing having adisplay-opening, a disk bearing thenames of streets or stations to be successively displayed at saidopening, a ratchet-wheel connected to the disk, a solenoid includingamovable core, a spring-pawl carried by the core and engaging the teethof' the ratchet-wheel, a collar secured to the pawl and havingperforations, a spring surrounding the core and extending between theend of the spool and the collar, and pins carried by the spool andextending through the perforationsin said collar to prevent rotativemovement of the core and pawl.

2. In a car-indicator, a casing having a display-opening, a disk bearingthe names of streets or stations to be successively displayed throughthe opening, a ratchet-wheel connected to the disk, a pawl engaging theratchet-wheel, a solenoid including a movable core carrying said pawl,the rear end of said core being threaded, and an adjustable nut arrangedon the threaded portion of the core and serving to limit its movement.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CARL H. BAILEY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES MELNIRo, WILLIAM A. SHAW.

